


The Christmas Invasion

by my_people_skills_are_rusty



Category: Doctor Who
Genre: Alternate Universe - World War I, BAMF Rose, Cute, Doctors, It Sucks, Language Arts assignment, Minor Character Death, Nurse! Rose, Short & Sweet, TenRose - Freeform, War, slight angst, sorry - Freeform, the doctor is mean at first
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-04-08
Updated: 2015-04-08
Packaged: 2018-03-21 21:51:54
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,077
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/3705727
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/my_people_skills_are_rusty/pseuds/my_people_skills_are_rusty
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>This was a short story assignment that I turned into a fanfiction. Enjoy.</p>
            </blockquote>





	The Christmas Invasion

Rose found that by the fifth death she no longer minded the smell of blood and pus. She supposed that it made her job easier, but the emptiness that had begun to fill her was not something she enjoyed. It was a known fact among her friends that Thursdays were her favorite day and so she had woken up that morning with a heart full of energy and determination. A much darker feeling took over her at the camp though. As soon as she had arrived at the CCS (Casualty Clearing Station) the smell of sweat, blood, and death overwhelmed her. A fellow nurse had ushered her into the tent where cots lined the walls, and almost all of them had been filled.

“You’re new, so it may be a bit much for you to take in but you’ll get into the order of it pretty quickly,” she stated, “and most of the patients are fairly polite so I would just focus on a good bedside manner and a good head for dealing with blood...¨

Rose shuddered. Although she had prepared for this it was still unexpectedly morbid. Despite the situation, she put on a determined smile and nodded her head. The nurse continued.

¨I’m Jackie, by the way. Donna Noble is the head nurse, and I’m her second in command. You’ll mainly be working with Mickey and Donna. They’re British like you. I think you three will get along.¨

This made Rose chuckle, and for a moment she could ignore the sad scene around her.

“I was told I would be working under a Doctor Smith. Where would he be?”

The nurse furrowed her eyebrows. She stared at the ground and seemed to be deep in thought before finally smiling triumphantly as the answer came to her. 

“He’s waiting outside. There was an attack nearby and many soldiers were injured. They’re being evacuated here from the field ambulance. That’s why we called you in a week early. There have been a lot more patients recently. I know you are used to working at the base hospital in Mars Sur Allier where most people lived and went home to their families but it won’t be like that here.”

As soon as she finished a group of men ran into the tent carrying a bloody body on a gurney yelling something about his leg. Apparently the problem was that he didn’t have it. That young man was the first death of the day. Three more came from that same attack and another was a soldier who had been here before Rose came and died of an infection. This was how she ended up with five dead bodies, a tolerance for the smell, and a hollow feeling in her chest.

By the end of the day she still had not met her new boss, Doctor John Smith. She had been forbidden to approach any emergency patients and as soon as they were stable and all that was left to do was clean their wounds the doctor would move on to the next young dying soldier, leaving her to clean up. She was allowed to treat a few young men with only extremely minor injuries.

 

She dealt with this everywhere she worked. It was expected that because she was a woman and a nurse that she could not do anything but clean wounds and make the soldiers comfortable, but her father had been a doctor and she knew how to treat patients and save limbs. At the base hospital she had gained respect as they saw what she was capable of but it seemed she wouldn’t even be given the chance here.

Although the base hospital was running 24 hours a day Rose only had a certain slot of time in which she was supposed to work. Since she had fulfilled her duties for the day and the Doctor was currently just standing outside in the cold staring aimlessly at the sky she decided that now would be the best time to talk and to become acquainted. 

Rose exited the tent and stepped up beside him without a sound. She followed his gaze to the moon. It was nice for Rose to realize that even in France in the middle of a war you could still see the same stars as your family back in the English countryside. Finally she spoke.

“I wanted to introduce myself.”

She turned to look at him. His eyes were still transfixed on the stars.

“My name is Rose Tyler. I’m the new nurse you requested. I’m sorry it took me so long to get here but I’m from the base hospital in Mars Sur Allier which is quite a ways away.”

The Doctor was silent for a moment before he spoke.

“Run,” he said. “Run away from here as fast as you can. I can see that you still have hope and happiness and determination. You’ll be crushed here. Just run. Go back to your original position. I’m sure they will be happy you are back. You seem competent enough. Run away from this camp and don’t look back. I shouldn’t have requested help. We’ll do just fine and you’re so young.”

Rose stood there with her mouth slightly agape. She didn’t know how to reply. It certainly wasn’t the welcoming she had expected. The Doctor hadn’t even looked at her when he said that. How could he judge her competence or determination? He hadn’t even bothered to glance in her direction all day. Rose wrinkled her nose and stepped in front of him, still facing him.

“Look I know I’m new here and it’s true that I’m quite young but I’m not so weak that I can be crushed so easily. I know that it’s bad out there and yes it hurts when these young men die but it hasn’t crushed me yet and it never will. As for my skill level you were right to say I’m competent enough but I don’t know how you could know that since all you have had me do is comfort the dying. You are one man. You can’t do it alone and I can help. I know I’m out of line but I’m also not a coward and I refuse to run away.”

Rose clapped her hand over her mouth. She hadn’t meant to say all of that. She waited impatiently for the doctor to speak, in between wanting to get it over with and wanting to run away from the scene. Finally the Doctor looked at her and although he was clearly angry she caught a small glimmer of happiness in his eyes.

“You are correct in saying you're out of line and if you ever speak to me again like that I’ll have you kicked out, but for now just go back to your quarters. I have you doing what you are doing because you are new and that is your job as a nurse. Complaining won’t get you anywhere.”

As Rose turned away with shame she could have sworn she heard the faint whisper, like a breeze on the back of her neck, of the Doctor saying “I’m glad you’re staying.”

The week went by just as the first day had been. People died and the ones who didn’t were evacuated at to the nearest base hospital or sent straight back to the front lines to be injured all over again.. The Doctor barely even looked at her and Rose got all her orders from the head nurse, Donna Noble, so they never talked. Rose was still frustrated because so far all she had done was rearrange pillows and comfort soldiers. She thought she would at least be allowed to dress wounds but it seemed that privilege had been taken away from her when she yelled at her boss. Her frustration grew as the Doctor continued to ignore her. 

The next Saturday had been a quiet day until some kid, couldn’t have been more than 17, started vomiting blood. Rose had been with him when it started so she grabbed a bucket, sat him up, and called for help. The only person in ear shot was the Doctor and he continued to ignore her.

“Doctor he’s coughing up blood. He must be bleeding internally. He needs help!”

That caught the Doctor’s attention. He spun around and raced to the boy’s side. Rose continued to hold the boy up.

“Let go of him,” the Doctor growled. “I can take care of him. Your shift is done.”

Rose’s eyes widened. She huffed and let go of the boy who was no longer conscious.

“If he dies it’s on you.”

She gave one last saddened look at the boy and walked out. 

She resented the doctor for that incident, but the boy survived and to complain would be to lose her position. Almost a month went by, the dynamic between Rose in the doctor still tense yet it seemed the doctor had warmed up to her slightly. Rose just hoped that by Christmas he would forgive her for the outburst and work with her properly.

Christmas was a big deal at the camp. Half of the people had gone home to England and America but Rose, two other nurses, a few soldiers, and the Doctor stayed behind. All the soldiers had been treated and either sent to the Base Hospital or back to their platoon. Only one with a severe fever remained because the vehicle meant to take him to the hospital hadn’t returned yet. Everyone left at the camp gathered in the big tent and sang christmas carols and drank some champagne that they found in one of the crates of food. All was well and although everyone was homesick, it was nice to celebrate christmas with each other.

All of a sudden a roar echoed through the tent. Everyone was on the ground in a second. Rose crawled forward and peaked through the tent’s entrance. Less than a mile away an airship flew through the sky and explosions rattled the night. As it got closer Rose could see the German logos on its side. This was wrong. The bombings happened in England not over some run down army camp.

“Its a German zeppelin! Everyone get down!”

The ship flew over the camp and a nearby explosion knocked her to the ground. Smoke filled her lungs and her ears were ringing. Through the haze she could make out the sound of someone yelling. She remembered the patrol officers and began to run towards the voice. She could just make out the silhouette of the disfigured body lying on the ground. The planes were still overhead and although she knew they couldn’t see her in the darkness she still felt the eyes of the Germans as she ran into the open closer to the body. It was the body of a young soldier. His head was bloody and his leg pointed at a grotesque angle. Soot covered his clothes and skin. She knelt beside him and checked his pulse. It was faint but definitely still there. The soldier let out a groan which caused her to flinch backwards in alarm. She hadn’t realized he was still conscious.

“Shush.” She murmured softly. “It will be okay. I’ve got you.”

He whimpered in response.

“What’s your name?”

The mumbled reply seemed close to “Jack Harkness.”

She knew she couldn’t transport him without help. Rose bit her lip. She had to do something or else he would die. She paused for a moment to stroke his head to calm him down. Then she got to work. She pulled off the sash around her waist and grabbed a broken piece of wood on the ground. She needed to stop the bleeding in his leg. She wrapped the sash around his leg and made a tourniquet. Suddenly a figure appeared beside her.

“Rose it’s not safe out here. You could die. Get back inside. This is foolish.”

It was the Doctor. He pulled at her arm but she stayed where she was.

“I’m not gonna leave him. He’ll die soon. I don’t care if I’m in danger. I can save Jack… so I will.”

The doctor pulled at her arm harder but when she didn’t budge he let go.

“Fine. If you won’t come with me because of this man then I might as well help you,” He spat.

Rose smiled to herself and looked at the soldier in front of her. She turned back to the doctor and told him to work on the leg while she bandaged his head. A minute later and they had the worst of the bleeding under control. The bombing hadn’t stopped. The last step was to get the dislocated shoulder back in place.

“Hold him down.”

The Doctor got in position. He looked up to the sky with a mixture of fear and sadness as another third explosion filled the air. Rose used the distraction as an opportunity to snap the soldier’s shoulder back into place. Jack cried out in pain but Rose just bit her lip and continued.

“Do you think he’s stable enough to move?” she asked.

The doctor nodded.

“I’ll go get a gurney.”

He stood up and began to run back to the tent where the medical supplies were. Rose watched in horror as a wooden beam from the only building in the camp began to fall towards the Doctor.

“Doctor look out!”

Her words reached empty air as the beam hit the ground with a heavy thud. Rose’s face warped to a look of sheer horror as she began to move towards the fallen beam. Suddenly she saw motion and a shadowy figure stood up behind the beam.

“It’s alright Rose! I’m okay,” he called. “Stay down. I’ll be back with the gurney.”

A few minutes later and they had gotten back to the tent with Jack. Everyone had gone to safety. The Doctor and Rose worked on getting him into one of the cots. It seemed the explosions had stopped and the makeshift bandages were holding well.

“Rose, go tell the others that it is all clear and that we need help. Gather them in here and we’ll do a head count. I’ll look after Jack.”

Rose didn’t protest. She knew that it was important to make sure everyone was fine. With her muddied skirts hitched up, Rose stumbled out of the tent and began to search for the others. Most of them were in the makeshift storm/bomb shelter that had been built that Autumn. Others were in their tents. It seemed only one bomb had actually hit the camp and although it destroyed the area where it hit, the impact on the rest of the camp was minimal. 

Back at the tent they discussed what to do and made sure everyone was present and uninjured. The Doctor, Rose, and Donna all worked on Jack. His injuries were less severe than they originally appeared and they planned to request for him to be transferred to the nearest base hospital. The attack had shaken everyone, but they seemed determined not to let it get to them. Everyone was alive and that was what mattered.

Despite that it was now early morning the camp was quiet as people caught up on the sleep they had missed. Everyone slept together on cots in the main tent. After reporting the attack and warning the nearest town, which was probably the original target, the Doctor, Rose, Mickey, and Jackie sat outside to watch the sunrise. It was strange how just that night had seemed to change everything. Rose and the Doctor were sitting together without the slightest bit of tension. As soon as the suns rays had all made it over the distant hill Mickey and Jackie stood up without a word and left. The world was silent.

“I bet you they’re snogging,” proclaimed the doctor after a moment.

Rose let out a surprised gasp and grinned.

“You mean Mickey and Jackie?” squealed Rose. “It can’t be. Everyone knows that Jackie has her eye on you.”

“Well everyone also knows that Mickey fancies you so I figure they make the perfect couple.”

This sent Rose into fits of laughter and the two just stayed there rolling about giggling. Finally they quieted down. The doctor looked at her as though he was deep in thought.

“Rose,” he said quietly.

“Yah?”

“I want to apologize. It’s a long story of why I treated you the way I did, and there is a reason, but that doesn’t excuse my behavior. You’re smart and good at medical work. I should have given you a chance.”

Rose smiled softly at him. In that moment he looked so old and weathered. She couldn’t help but feel sorry for him. It was clear he had seen some dark things.

“It’s okay doctor. I don’t mind anymore. I’m only a nurse anyway. It was only to be expected.”

The doctor shook his head.

“No. I was rude and petty. I took my problems out on you. I thought you were fantastic last night. Honestly, I thought you were fantastic the moment you yelled at me for treating you like you couldn’t do anything on that first day.” 

Rose’s eyes widened in surprise but she kept her mouth shut. It was nice to see this side of the Doctor. Still…

“Well you are obviously a kind man and you seem to be fairly welcoming and friendly now. Why weren’t you like this before?”

The doctor was clearly hesitant but he Rose’s smile comforted him.

“Two years ago, just as the war was gaining heat, my wife Sarah Jane Smith left me. I always knew it was destined to fail. It was a young marriage and it had always been a rocky relationship but still, her leaving made me bitter and distant. That’s when I left for the army. I was a soldier originally, despite my medical training. About a year ago I lost my squad in the Battle of Arras. That’s when I got sent here.”

He paused.

“You know, you remind me of Sarah. I thinks that why I treated you that way. It was hard for me, being reminded of all that I’ve lost. I just wanted to get rid of you before I could get hurt again.”

Rose leaned into his arm and smiled.

“I’m not going to leave you. Not even a war will change that.”


End file.
